140. While You Were Sleeping

When Matt falls onto the train tracks, Laci hops down to rescue him, but they both get hit by a train, and now they're podcasting from the afterlife. The first movie up in this Afterworld Era is While You Were Sleeping (1995), the Sandra Bullock imposter/coma/Christmas rom-com classic.   How great is it seeing star-making, lightning-in-a-bottle performances like Bullock's performance here? How great is this Chicago-at-Christmastime establishing shot footage, complete with extras falling down? How great is it to know that if Laci or Matt realized the other had been lying about their identity for 15 years, they would get over it pretty quickly.   ALSO: We're launching a Patreon in January! Subscribe for $5/month to Load Bearing Beams: Collector's Edition for two bonus episodes per month!   Bonus video: While You Were Sleeping inspired two bonus videos! Favorite mistaken identity movies: Watch on Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok. Favorite Chicago movies: Watch on Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok. Next week: The Santa Clause (1994) with special guest Movie Talk With Brock   Time stamps: 00:08:24 — Our personal histories with While You Were Sleeping 00:12:28 — History segment: Director Jon Turtletaub, star Sandra Bullock, and the making of While You Were Sleeping  00:20:49 — In-depth movie discussion 01:14:05 — Special announcement: We're launching a Patreon in January! 01:19:30 — Final thoughts and star ratings   Sources: "'While You Were Sleeping' turns 25: An oral history of the Sandra Bullock rom-com favorite" by Ashley Spencer | The Washington Post (2020) - https://wapo.st/49wbFyY    Artwork by Laci Roth.   Music by Rural Route Nine. Listen to their album The Joy of Averages on Spotify (https://bit.ly/48WBtUa), Apple Music (https://bit.ly/3Q6kOVC), or YouTube (https://bit.ly/3MbU6tC).   Songs by Rural Route Nine in this episode: "Winston-Salem" - https://youtu.be/-acMutUf8IM "Snake Drama" - https://youtu.be/xrzz8_2Mqkg "24 Hours Is Like Three Weeks!" - https://youtu.be/xhmAga_DGv0 "The Bible Towers of Bluebonnet" - https://youtu.be/k7wlxTGGEIQ   Follow the show! Twitter: @LoadBearingPod | @MattStokes9 | @LRothConcepts Instagram: @loadbearingbeams TikTok: @load.bearing.beams | @mattstokes9 Letterboxd: @loadbearinglaci | @mattstokes9 Bluesky: @loadbearingbeams.bsky.social